Foster Care Journey

 

Thursday we had our home visit and inspection.  This went VERY well.  I was extremely nervous.  Mostly because I wasn't sure what to expect.  The house was tidy.  Things were organized.  Beds put together where the children are to sleep.  The only thing we still have to get is a baby crib.  Which we will be getting in a week or so.  One thing that really surprised us was our county provides car seats for each child coming into foster care.  YEA!  That is one thing we can check off of our to-do list.

 

The woman from the county got here around 10 am.  It is the same woman who is doing our classes so we were familiar with her.  I can only imagine how I would of been if it was a stranger!  Anyway, we gave her a tour of the house from top to bottom.  I must have been chatty because hubby said he could tell I was nervous.  HAHA!  After the tour we sat down at the table for the rest of the visit.  She went over our paperwork with us.  She said since all of our paperwork had already been turned in there wasn't much she needed to go over with us.  She had a few questions about our family profile, which was completely painless!  It was really like sitting around the table talking with a good friend.

 

She also did the fire/safety inspection.  Anyone who knows me well knows that when it comes to things fire related I am ALL over it.  Fire extinguishers in the house, smoke detectors, furnace ect. 

 

Tuesday we completed class number 7 of 10.  Only three more to go.  All of our paperwork has been completed and turned in.  Now we just wait to finish the classes, wait to get the final approval, wait to get our first placement.  There is a whole lot of waiting going on.  Class number 9 is a panel class.  There are a number of people coming into speak to us.  The county director, foster parents, birth parents, and foster children.  My parents may go with us to this one!  They have been great throughout this process.  They are just as excited as we are. 

 

So while we wait we will continue to prepare ourselves for this wonderful journey God has us on.  We are praying together as a family for the children that will come into our home.  Even if they are only here for a moment, they will be forever in our hearts.

 

I cannot describe the feeling we have as we move closer to being licensed to do foster care.  Although we know how difficult it will be for our family at times, God is right here with us.  He has our hands as we walk down this path.  We are so blessed to be in a position to be able to help these families out.  Yes I said families.  We will not only be ministering to the children, but to their bio-family as well.